Monday, September 2, 2013

My Love Affair with The Arabian Nights -- Part One: How It All Began by Morgiana Celeste Varricchio

During the many question and answer sessions in which Mosaic
company members have participated, inevitably someone asks:How did you get involved in Middle Eastern
dance?Each of us in the Company has our
own reasons.My path into this beautiful
dance form began at the library, of all places.I was a voracious reader as a child, and was drawn to the beautifully
illustrated books of fairy tales and folk tales of different lands.The librarians in the children’s department
never let me down – each visit I would ask for their suggestions, and they
would deliver.On one visit, probably
when I was in the third grade,I was
recommended the big, beautiful Tales from the Arabian Nights with
illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren (http://www.gustaftenggren.com).
I read the book everyday until the due
date, and then I renewed the book and read it again until it was due. With great reluctance, I returned the book
when my renewals had run out.But after
the book’s required “resting time,” I checked it out again, and the cycle
continued.

The good librarians soon became wise to my repeated antics,
and would put the book aside for me until I could return to check it out once
more.These were wonderful years full of
the discoveries that reading brings, but time passed.I grew older, and, eager to be given access
to the infinite selections in the adult library on the main floor, I no longer
visited the children’s library on the second floor. But, I never forgot the magic of Tenggren’s
illustrations or of Scheherazade’s enthralling stories, and sought out the more
adult retelling of the stories, even the 19th century translation of explorer
Sir Richard Burton.

Let’s zoom ahead to when disposable income became
available.Before the Internet and easy book
searches through such businesses as abebooks.com, working with a reputable book
hunter was the only option to track down an out-of-print title not found in a
local used bookstore.Children’s picture
books were hot commodities, and rarely to be had at secondhand bookstores.So, after finding a book hunter, I was
thrilled to plunk down a hefty portion of my paycheck to purchase my own
(“excellent condition”) copy of that magical Golden Book edition full of
Tenggren’s art.

Let’s zoom ahead once again.I had just completed a successful tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
in Scotland, of my one-person performance of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and was
looking to begin a new one-person project, done in story theater – a style of
storytelling using mime, dance, narration, and playing several characters. This
style (based upon improvisation techniques developed by Paul Sills for his Story Theatre) was introduced to me by Robyn Baker Flatt during my years at
the Dallas Theater Center (Texas) and I loved it.

In choosing this next project, I wanted to combine Middle
Eastern dance and music, characters I could sink my teeth into, and a story I
would not grow tired of.The only
logical choice, therefore, was Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves, my most
favorite story of all time, which even includes a climactic dance scene.My director Donald Brenner and I worked
tirelessly over a very hot summer in Fazil’s un-air-conditioned studios, and
created a literate retelling of the tale, performed in story theater style with
mime, movement, and Middle Eastern dance, with yours truly playing twelve
different characters including the forty thieves.(Three donkeys were part of the original
coterie of characters, but were written out of the final version.)Our efforts were rewarded with a touring
contract with Lincoln Center, which enabled us to add three musicians for live
accompaniment (Richard Khuzami, Maurice Chedid and Michael Hess). After our season with Lincoln Center, we
toured Ali Baba to schools in the NY/NJ metro area and beyond for 10 years.

In the meantime, Mosaic Dance Theater Company came to be.Now working with a company rather than just as
a solo artist, I had the opportunity to create a full cast retelling of an
Arabian Nights’ tale, but which one?As
a solo artist, character actor, and dancer, I could do anything I chose.For a dance company, however, the choice had
to be adaptable for dance.Again, I went
back to my favorites, and adapted the consecutive tales of The Fisherman and
the Djinni and The King of the Ebony Isles.Fisherman had a cast of ten (five speaking roles, and five
non-speaking roles), was directed in story-theater style, and featured
choreography by Samara. The 80-minute piece was presented in 2006 in NJ and
NYC.

A few years later, in 2009, we brought another tale into
Mosaic’s repertory.This time, the
choice was Ubar, The Lost City of Brass, a strange tale based on history, which has always fascinated me.Again, we had a full cast, again the story was adapted with dance in mind.Subsequent seasons brought new
tales, also presented in story theater fashion – two solo works (Mohammed the
Muallim and Abu Nuwas and His Wife), and one full cast work (The Paradise
of Children, the story of Pandora’s box).2013 -- time to return to Scheherazade’s vast compendium of stories.Enter The Ebony Horse.